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Hillary Clinton's memoir snubbed in China

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discusses her new book, 'Hard Choices: A Memoir,' at the Lisner Auditorium on the campus of George Washington University June 13, 2014 in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Not a single publisher in China has been willing to sell former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's new memoir -- in either Chinese or English -- in what the book's publisher said amounts to an "effective ban" by the Chinese government.

"There's no formal written explanation for why, except for the obvious reason that, in the past, we've been told that the import agencies don't want to risk the wrath of the Chinese government," Simon & Schuster president Jonathan Karp told Buzzfeed. "They could be shut down."

Karp said the publishing house approached "all the likely candidates," but offers were met with "deafening silence." Sixteen other countries have purchased foreign rights for the memoir, called "Hard Choices."

Along with detailing issues like the United States' relationship with Russia and Clinton's 2002 vote for the Iraq war, the book criticizes the Chinese government for its antidemocratic practices, including censorship. It also highlights Clinton's efforts to help Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese dissident and civil rights activist.

Clinton has had problems publishing her books in China before, as Buzzfeed notes: The Chinese version of her first memoir, "Living History," was pulled from circulation after it was significantly altered without approval.

While it's not selling in China, Clinton is still on the road selling her memoir to American readers. On Friday, she's signing books at a Walmart in Little Rock, Arkansas and at a Books-a-Million in Dayton, Ohio.